Haverhill, Massachusetts

 

Although it's a state route, the street is narrow which slows traffic. On street parking is a physical barrier between pedestrians on the narrow sidewalk and moving cars in the street. This part of Haverill survived the "urban renewal" demolition that affected other parts of town. Three to four story buildings. Built to the front property line. Limited on site parking. Traditional architecture and building materials.  Small town urbanism.

Related: Why walkable streets are more economically productive.

Compatibility of Building Form

These two buildings across the street from each other in San Francisco were constructed nearly a century apart, but they both have the same form. Seven story mixed-use built to the sidewalk. The new building may look very different, architecturally speaking, from the old one, but it is identical in form. Often when people argue about compatibility of design in new construction they obsess about architectural style and ignore the form of the buildings. This is something many community "design review boards" miss; especially when it comes to single family homes. It doesn't have to look like a replica of existing buildings to be compatible with the character of the neighborhood.

Verdugo Avenue, Burbank, CA

There are two to three blocks of development like this along Verdugo Avenue in Burbank, CA. One and two story buildings built to the sidewalk with parking in the rear. All built before the current very high parking requirements. It immediately abuts duplex and single family residential zones and is within a 1/4 - 1/2 mile walk of many residents. A bike lane runs most of the length of Verdugo Avenue through the city including at this point so it is also easily accessible by bike. This strip of buildings could use some investment - a small mixed-use project was recently approved at the other end of the block - or at a minimum a new coat of paint and some street trees, but it is otherwise a charming and functioning commercial neighborhood. 

What is wrong with Reseda?

UPDATE: After giving it some thought I've decided that the large parking lots behind the buildings along Sherman Way need to be redeveloped with housing. Parking for the commercial uses can be integrated into the new development. For sale or rental housing. A first apartment for a local kid, a place for a downsizing senior who wants to be able to walk places rather than drive, a condo for a young family just starting out.

Reseda is a neighborhood of Los Angeles in the San Fernando Valley. The population is about 75,000 which is approximately 11,500 people per square mile. The commercial center of the neighborhood is the intersection of Reseda Boulevard and Sherman Way. The area seems to have so much of what urbanists insist are essential to a vital, thriving, livable community. Yet Reseda doesn't seem to be performing as might be expected from a place with so many physical assets. The local councilman recently remarked that it had the area had the potential to be the "next hot night spot." I'm not sure what that means. Maybe just that it could have a more vibrant dining scene? I recently took some pictures of some of the physical assets in the area, which are below.

 

 Stores built to the sidewalk, street trees, on street parking, metered parking.

  

Buildings at the corner and opening to the corner, two story with office on the second floor, cross walks clearly marked.

 

 Streets are not excessively wide, crosswalks clearly marked, landscaped center median, retail windows open to the street.

 

On street parking, landscaped center median.

Charming "pedestrian level" lighting at bus stops. 

 

 

 Two examples of the more than adequate supply of free parking that was empty or nearly empty on  Sunday afternoon.  

That was the good. And now the bad.

                                                     

Vacant store front on Sherman Way 

 

Two separate churches in what should be revenue generating commercial spaces.

 

 

Vacant movie theater. (Doesn't every failing downtown have an empty old movie theater?) 

 

This didn't help matters. A Walgreen's set back form the street with a parking lot fronting the street. Exactly the opposite of what they should be building here.  They could have very easily brought that store to the corner and put the parking behind it.

Why, in spite of so many great assets, is this district do down and out? I did a Google search for "downtown Reseda plan" and the first hit was an LA Times article from 1990 "Revised Plan for Downtown Reseda Draws Mixed Reviews." Basically, the business owners and residents opposed mixed-use development, insisted on a two story height limit, and wanted to ensure that auto oriented uses such as repair and upholstery could open and expand in the area. It just seems like an odd place to want to concentrate those uses. But having read some of the comments in that article, I'm not surprised that downtown Reseda is in the state it's in. I'd love to learn more about this area and understand why it's struggling so badly.

Related: Review: A New Streetscape for Burlingame Avenue

"Numerous small, inexpensive but vital differences needed to make the streetscape appealing."

It's really not that difficult to create a real, livable, walkable, vital neighborhood as demonstrated in these drawings.

"Clashing Expectations of Los Angeles Living"

An LA Times piece related to something I posted previously: "Another one bites the dust".

Neighbors pushing for stricter rules fear that outsized, out-of-character buildings will drag down their home values. Edri and others maintain that bigger homes boost prices for their neighbors.

The tensions also reflect clashing expectations of Los Angeles living.

For decades there was "kind of a consensus about what a Southern California house should look like" — low, rambling and open to the landscape, cultural historian D.J. Waldie said. That philosophy, along with requirements imposed by builders, gave rise to uniform neighborhoods lined with homes of similar sizes and styles, Waldie said.

But in a growing city with scant undeveloped land and changing tastes, some Angelenos see things differently. They look at older neighborhoods and think, "'this is where the good life is lived,'" Waldie said. "'But I don't want to live in a 1,300-square-foot house.'"

 

 

 

Another one bites the dust.

The house being demolished is a  2 bedroom,  1 bathroom home that sold late last year for $975,000.  It is not uncommon for this to happen.  Sometimes the houses that replace them are very modern like this one.   And sometimes they are oddly designed hodge-podge of styles and really only intended to max out the buildable area like this one. 

 

The blue house next door is indicative of the original character of the neighborhood. Does neighborhood character matter? Should new construction be required to match existing styles and building massing or should people be allowed to build as they choose within the limitations of the zoning?

Related

San Diego Neighborhood Signs

I enjoy the way these signs identify San Diego neighborhoods. They do double duty as way finding for visitors as well as helping to establish a sense of neighborhood identity and pride.